P53 · Extremal configurations · Classic · Applied frontier · Weak baseline · Hard

The biggest little polygon · n = 22

Also known asbiggest little polygonlargest small polygon

Choose n points in the plane with pairwise distances at most 1 in strictly convex position, maximizing the area of the convex n-gon they span.

Instancen = 22
ObjectiveMaximize the area

Record comparison

the area · Higher is better
RecordValue / intervalAuthor / holderSource
External best known[0.77837733045, 0.77837733055]See source attributionarxiv.org ↗
Site record0.778377330101338485zzzcyRecord details ↓

The site record has not been established to match or exceed this reference.

Formal definition

  • ContainerUnconstrained in the plane: the only global constraint is diameter at most 1, with coordinates written inside [0, 1.5] × [0, 1.5]
  • SubmissionExactly n points
  • ConstraintsAll pairwise distances are at most 1, and every point is a strict vertex of the convex hull
  • Areaqᵢ = (xᵢ,yᵢ) are the hull vertices ordered counterclockwise by the verifier (submissions need not be pre-sorted); internally, the verifier compares the shoelace value 2A(P) in exact arithmeticA(P)=12|∑i=1n(xiyi+1−xi+1yi)|,qn+1=q1
  • ObjectiveMaximize the area A(P) over all convex n-gons P of diameter at most 1maxPA(P)
Open full editor ↗

Layout shown: site record

1.5y0
0x1.5
VERIFIED CONSTRUCTIONthe convex hull and its diameter pair

Getting a feel for it

Why only even n are included

For odd n, the regular n-gon is already known to maximize area among polygons of diameter 1. For even n, asymmetric polygons beat the regular n-gon; for instance, Graham's hexagon has nearly 4% more area than the regular hexagon of diameter 1. Accordingly, only even n are included here.

Known results

Reinhardt (1922) proved that regular polygons are optimal for odd n. For even n, optimal configurations have been proven for n = 6, 8, 10, and 12 (from Graham 1975 through Audet et al.), while n ≥ 14 has only numerical best-known constructions and remains open.

The record-holding arrangement for The biggest little polygon n = 22, 0.778377330101338485
LAYOUT & HISTORY

Record details

Inspect the layout, solver notes and record history.

Record holderzzzcy
Solution methodAI · OpenAI: GPT-6 Astra
Challenge this record ↗Submit a proof / idea ↓Share a proof or bound argument in the discussion board. Accepted contributions earn proof points.
Record holder's solver noteNo solver note yet (expand)+

The record holder has not shared a solver note yet.

Record history (3 changes)
  1. zzzcyAI · OpenAI: GPT-6 Astra
    0.77837733005996224→0.778377330101338485
  2. zzzcyAI · OpenAI: GPT-6 Astra
    0.7783773300003102505→0.77837733005996224
  3. 邱仲普AI · OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Sol
    0.778377329775934285→0.7783773300003102505
ANSWER FORMAT

How to write your answer

The only geometric constraint is that all pairwise distances are at most 1. Any point set of diameter at most 1 fits inside a 1 × 1 box, so the [0, 1.5] × [0, 1.5] coordinate window leaves ample margin on all sides. Write coordinates as decimal strings such as "0.25", with at most nine decimal places.

Submit points, with each coordinate written as a decimal string such as "0.25" (at most nine decimal places).

The current leader's answer

{
  "points": [
    [
      "0.237523244",
      "0.834641248"
    ],
    [
      "0.238689249",
      "0.687924131"
    ],
    [
      "0.282112290",
      "0.548070821"
    ],
    [
      "0.364060613",
      "0.426758763"
    ],
    [
      "0.477551826",
      "0.334295988"
    ],
    [
      "0.612898395",
      "0.278564777"
    ],
    [
      "0.758465009",
      "0.264313623"
    ],
    [
      "0.901222654",
      "0.292552120"
    ],
    [
      "1.025275968",
      "0.358260143"
    ],
    [
      "1.094369096",
      "0.424715111"
    ],
    [
      "1.156780903",
      "0.497480154"
    ],
    [
      "1.215317524",
      "0.625074204"
    ],
    [
      "1.235380214",
      "0.769208325"
    ],
    [
      "1.212862231",
      "0.913727145"
    ],
    [
      "1.149513570",
      "1.045680125"
    ],
    [
      "1.050737556",
      "1.153721469"
    ],
    [
      "0.924955445",
      "1.228628142"
    ],
    [
      "0.782856226",
      "1.264016113"
    ],
    [
      "0.636310824",
      "1.256824759"
    ],
    [
      "0.496333881",
      "1.206918065"
    ],
    [
      "0.367406185",
      "1.111391837"
    ],
    [
      "0.279377320",
      "0.977233166"
    ]
  ]
}
Submission format and technical detailsOpen this when you are ready to prepare a JSON answer+

Instance parameters

{
  "n": 22
}

The current leader's answer

{
  "points": [
    [
      "0.237523244",
      "0.834641248"
    ],
    [
      "0.238689249",
      "0.687924131"
    ],
    [
      "0.282112290",
      "0.548070821"
    ],
    [
      "0.364060613",
      "0.426758763"
    ],
    [
      "0.477551826",
      "0.334295988"
    ],
    [
      "0.612898395",
      "0.278564777"
    ],
    [
      "0.758465009",
      "0.264313623"
    ],
    [
      "0.901222654",
      "0.292552120"
    ],
    [
      "1.025275968",
      "0.358260143"
    ],
    [
      "1.094369096",
      "0.424715111"
    ],
    [
      "1.156780903",
      "0.497480154"
    ],
    [
      "1.215317524",
      "0.625074204"
    ],
    [
      "1.235380214",
      "0.769208325"
    ],
    [
      "1.212862231",
      "0.913727145"
    ],
    [
      "1.149513570",
      "1.045680125"
    ],
    [
      "1.050737556",
      "1.153721469"
    ],
    [
      "0.924955445",
      "1.228628142"
    ],
    [
      "0.782856226",
      "1.264016113"
    ],
    [
      "0.636310824",
      "1.256824759"
    ],
    [
      "0.496333881",
      "1.206918065"
    ],
    [
      "0.367406185",
      "1.111391837"
    ],
    [
      "0.279377320",
      "0.977233166"
    ]
  ]
}

Submit points, with each coordinate written as a decimal string such as "0.25" (at most nine decimal places). · Verifier v1.0.0

DISCUSSION

Discussion

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